Understanding the Benefits and Drawbacks of Custom vs. Template Websites

You have likely seen website companies pitching free websites or ‘do-it-yourself’ websites. These template options may work for some businesses looking to “just get a presence online”, but before deciding, you should look at the pros and cons of both template and custom website solutions.

Template Websites:

Pros:

1.      Time to launch – A template website may require significantly less time to get up and running. The design and most of the coding is already done, so once you develop content for the site, input your logo, and add images and content, you’re well on your way to completion.

2.      Lower Cost – Generally templated websites are less expensive than custom built sites. Prices on templates vary from free to several hundred dollars just for the design. Your costs also depend on who is implementing the template and how much manipulation needs to be done to the template design, potentially adding $1,500 plus to the cost. Don’t forget monthly hosting, and the cost of writing content for your site. Still, the final cost of a template site is likely to be considerably less than a custom designed site.

3.      Many choices – There are many template design choices available.

Cons:

1.      Customization & Scalability – Most templates limit how much you can customize the site. Templates can work well to get something up and running online but as your business grows and offerings change a template site may limit adding needed functionality.

2.      Security – The security of your website may be compromised by using a popular template solution, as hackers often target household name solutions, looking for security issues to exploit. With any website solution, where you host becomes important to security as the security on the host server needs to be updated on a consistent basis. If not, your site may be vulnerable to hacking.

3.      Design Limits – With templated website designs you may be forced to live with design layouts and functionality that will limit overall UX (User Experience).

4.      Same Old Same Old – Other businesses will be using the same template. Templates are available to anyone that wants to purchase that look and feel – some templates can be purchased at a much higher exclusive rate.

5.      SEO Issues – Not all templates or do-it-yourself website platforms are built SEO friendly. If you are looking to grow organic search engine traffic you need to be careful what solution you choose.

6.      Content – If you are building your own website you will need to provide your own content. Content plays a major role in how Google looks at and ranks your website in their search engine. If you don’t follow the content guidelines required by Google your site will suffer on the search engine results pages.

Custom Websites:

Pros:

1.      Design & Branding – When choosing to go with a custom-built website you have control over all the aspects of the design, branding and call-to-actions. This allows you to get exactly what you want out of your site. By choosing the right developer, you can assure that your custom site is built per industry best practices.

2.      Scalability – Custom built websites can grow as your business grows. If you need added functionality, a custom website can allow the developer to add this over time without the potential limitations of a templated website. 

3.      Unique Look – A custom-built website allows you to have your own unique look and feel so that your business doesn’t blend in with the competition.

4.      SEO – When you choose the right developer, your custom website can be built SEO friendly from scratch. This is a huge boon in growing organic search engine traffic on engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing.

5.      Complete Package – Some custom site developers offer a complete development package; providing design, coding, message creation, brand enhancements, content development, and project management so that all your web needs are met, and you’re never forced to ‘go it alone’.

Cons:

1.      Cost – Custom-built websites generally have a higher cost than templated solutions. 

2.      Time to Launch – A custom-built website typically takes longer to build. The initial design and layout process, with review and approvals, adds time. However the final time to completion my not be longer when you factor in the time it takes to develop content for your site.

We recommend looking at your business needs, website users, and your overall online marketing goals to help you choose the right direction for your business or organization. 

To learn check out our blog at www.mltgroup.com/blog/

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